MISTT, a London dual-use technology startup, has raised £5M in a pre-seed round led by defence investor Expeditions to build a four-dimensional data map for autonomous systems.

The round was announced on 11 November. Seedcamp, the UK's National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), Watchkeeper, Overmatch and FJ Labs also invested.

Law firm Mishcon de Reya, which advised MISTT on the deal, confirmed the round and its investor list.

What is MISTT building?

Autonomous systems, from drones to ground robots, need an accurate picture of the world around them. GPS and single sensors often fall short, especially in contested or changing environments.

MISTT combines sensor data, customer data, open-source information and environmental data into one model of a three-dimensional space. It then adds time as a fourth dimension, so the map shows how a place changes.

The company describes this as a kind of next GPS for autonomous systems and for AI models that need to understand the physical world.

Who founded MISTT?

MISTT's founding team includes chief executive Dan Eaton, a Royal Marines veteran. The startup is focusing on defence customers first, with plans to move into wider commercial uses later.

Eaton said Mishcon took time to explain each stage of the company's first raise and what the terms meant for MISTT.

Toby McCrindle, head of defence and deep tech at Mishcon de Reya, said MISTT is tackling a complex challenge and has already shown strong traction with UK customers and industrial partners.

What will the £5M pay for?

The money funds hiring across technical and business development teams. MISTT plans to grow in the UK and then expand into NATO and US markets.

It has not named customers or published accuracy figures.

Who are the investors?

Expeditions is a London early-stage investor focused on European security and deep tech, and is itself backed by the NATO Innovation Fund. NSSIF is the UK government's investment arm for dual-use technology linked to national security.

Having both a specialist defence VC and the state's security fund on a pre-seed cap table is a strong signal for a company at this stage.

What this means for UK founders

Defence is now one of the busiest areas of UK defence startup funding, and the money is reaching founders at pre-seed, not just later stages. This week also saw Uforce raise $700M at Series A.

For dual-use founders, the route MISTT is taking is common: win defence customers first, where the problem is urgent and budgets are growing, then widen into commercial markets.

Founders raising for the first time can also use Bizztor's guide to creating a startup pitch deck before approaching specialist funds.